Poster Presentation 24
Increased Angiogenic Potential
From Transformed 3D Cultured Adipose Stem Cells
Brent M. Bijonowski M.Sc.1, and Teng Ma Ph.D.1
1.
Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Tallahassee, FL. USA
It has been suggested that mesenchymal stem cells can be used as a treatment for ischemic tissue since they can
differentiate in the niche environment into vasculature. Building from this we set out to better understand this
transformation from stem cell to endothelial (EC) and stromal cell found in the vessel development. To
understand this phenomenon adipose derived stem cells (ASC) were cultured either in EGM (Lonza Inc.) or αMEM for 9 days either in 2D or 3D (aggregate) culture. 2D culture took place on standard tissue culture plastic,
while 3D culture took place on ultra-low attachment plates. After 9 days, cells and aggregates, were moved to
Matrigel coated plates and were cultured for another 7 days. Radius of vessel outgrowth was measured each day
by light microscopy images analyzed using ImageJ. Endothelial and stromal cell differentiation was measured
by immunohistochemistry with CD31 and Hoechst staining. 3D cultured cells outperformed their 2D
counterparts. This can be attributed to a greater priming in the aggregate culture for differentiation. The vessel
length and CD31 staining was greater in the 3D EGM culture of ASC, suggesting a greater differentiation of
ASC to EC due to factors found in the culture media such as VEGF. Stromal cells were observed surrounding
CD31 positive cells in all conditions.
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